Puerto Rico School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Communication of Policy

Puerto Rico School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Communication of Policy

Category: Codes of Conduct
Subcategory: Communication of Policy
State: Puerto Rico

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Puerto Rico

LAWS

18 L.P.R.A. § 9. Students.

Every student in the public education system has the right to:

(a) Receive an education that fosters the full development of his/her personality and the strengthening of respect toward human rights and the fundamental freedoms within a safe environment.

(b) Spend his/her school day in a safe environment that is free from undue pressures related to school violence.

(c) Receive orientation and a copy of the General Student Regulations of the Puerto Rico Public Education System and the Internal Security Regulations, with the provisions and sanctions thereof.

(d) Be informed of the violent situations that have taken place in the school environment in order to remain alert thereto.

(e) Enjoy broad and diverse opportunities for intellectual and artistic creativity and expression.

(f) Be treated with fairness and equality and to develop within an environment of freedom, solidarity and full respect for human rights.

(g) Be guaranteed safety, physical integrity and anonymity when reporting an act of violence he/she has witnessed to the school security authorities.

(h) Receive the necessary tools for the constructive management of emotions and for verbal non-violent conflict resolution.

(i) Receive orientation about the procedures to be followed in emergency situations, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, gas leaks, fires or terrorist attacks.

18 L.P.R.A. § 11. Parents, tutors or guardians.

All parents with children in the Public Education System have the right to:

(d) Receive orientation and a copy of the General Regulations for the Students of the Puerto Rico Public Education System and the Internal Security Regulations, with the provisions and sanctions thereof.

(e) Participate as an active member of the school council, the security council, the security committee and other committees that promote safety in the school.

(f) Receive a copy of the reports of violent incidents registered for each semester in the school that their children attend.

18 L.P.R.A. § 12. Non-teaching personnel.

All non-teaching personnel working in a public system educational institution shall have the right to:

(a) Spend their workday in a safe environment that is free from undue pressures related to school violence.

(b) Receive information regarding their responsibilities with respect to the Crisis Management Strategic Plan for violent incidents in schools.

(d) Receive orientation and training to work with conflict situations such as fights, riots or disputes in order to identify when their own safety or that of any member of the school community may be in danger.

(e) Have their confidentiality and anonymity guaranteed when they offer sensitive security information to the school director or the security authorities for purposes of reporting any delinquent behavior within the school.

18 L.P.R.A. § 13. Department of Education.

(a) To establish and promulgate the General Regulations for the Students of the Puerto Rico Public Education System and the Internal Security Regulations and give notice thereof by means of a copy and orientations to the parents and students of the public education system. Said regulations shall be adopted pursuant to §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, known as the "Uniform Administrative Procedures Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico", and shall be filed immediately after approval thereof.

(b) The administrative authorities, as well as the teaching and non-teaching personnel, shall have the duty to ensure compliance with the General Regulations for the Student of the Puerto Rico Public Education System and the Internal Security Regulations, especially provisions related to the codes of conduct and behavior.

(c) To establish and promulgate the Crisis Management Strategic Plan for violent incidents in schools to give notice and copy there of to the parents, tutors and students of the Public Education System.

(d) To provide administrative support to achieve compliance with the school security plans established by the student councils. Said school security plans shall include initiatives directed toward:

(1) Identifying the security needs of the schools.

(2) Providing clean physical facilities in a safe environment.

(3) Implementing training programs for the teachers, non-teaching personnel and student groups in the areas of violence prevention and conflict management.

(e) To redesign those physical facilities whose conditions may influence the development of delinquent or violent activities. The schools should be designed in such a manner so as to prevent the free access of unauthorized persons into the schools and to promote that the school authorities be able to visually supervise student activities in all areas.

(f) The Department of Education shall establish guidelines for the school directors to prepare a report on violent and non-violent incidents within the school premises. Using a standard format, the Director shall gather the information and analyze the data. Subsequently, the Director shall prepare a quarterly report of these findings and submit the same to the School Life Quality Program.

(g) School authorities shall be responsible for coordinating with the Puerto Rico Police the installation of security devices such as video cameras and alarm systems in schools that are declared unsafe by the Department of Education.

(h) The Department of Education shall be responsible for the training of the teaching and administrative personnel on how to manage students with discipline and violence problems. This training shall be based upon conflict management and the early identification of violent situations. The Department of Education is responsible for keeping all its personnel duly informed about the rules for security and violence prevention, so they may know which steps to take in a crisis situation.

(i) The Department of Education shall promote the development of rapid response plans for crisis situations. Among these are plans for evacuation in case of fire, earthquakes, gas leaks and bomb or terrorist threats. Each component of the school system shall clearly understand its role in the crisis plan. The plan shall include a strategy for communicating with security agencies such as the Puerto Rico Police, the Firefighters Corps, Medical Emergencies [Corps.] and the Commonwealth Emergency Management and Disaster Administration Agency. Moreover, a plan shall be established for communicating with the parents and the communications media in case of emergency.

(j) The Department of Education shall ensure compliance with the prevention and orientation programs directed toward the reduction of violent incidents and conflict management in the schools. These training programs shall emphasize problem solving, social interaction, peer pressure management, understanding of values and conflict management skills.

(k) The Department of Education shall use alternative educational environments for those students who have faced school violence problems so as to guarantee a safe school community.

18 L.P.R.A. § 3805. Publication.

The Department of Education in coordination with the Youth Affairs Office shall establish the mechanisms and systems for the publication, education, and general dissemination of the Student Bill of Rights established in this chapter. Within thirty (30) days as of the approval of this act, the Department of Education shall notify the existence thereof in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation for three (3) consecutive days. Moreover, it shall publish the complete text on the Department of Education' website. Public schools shall keep a copy of the Student Bill of Rights in a visible and accessible place for students, teachers, parents, and teaching personnel. The Department of Education shall not tolerate any restriction or limitation of the student rights set forth in this Act; said rights shall not restrict or exclude any other right granted by the code of laws.

REGULATIONS

Regulation Num. 8115. Article X. Responsibility of the School Community.

B. At the beginning of each school year, the student and his guardian, in the case of students under twenty-one (21) years of age and not emancipated, will sign a document in which they agree to comply with the rules laid down in this Regulation. Students over 21 years of age will sign the document themselves.